Women who defied temple mobs ‘have no fear’

04/01/2019

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media captionOne of the women who defied protesters to enter the Sabarimala temple says she has ‘no fear’ Two women who defied protesters to enter one of Hinduism’s holiest temples say they have no fear of mobs enraged by their actions.Kanaka Durga, 39, and Bindu Ammini, 40, made…

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Media captionOne of the women who defied protesters to enter the Sabarimala temple says she has ‘no fear’

Two women who defied protesters to enter one of Hinduism’s holiest temples say they have no fear of mobs enraged by their actions.

Kanaka Durga, 39, and Bindu Ammini, 40, made history by entering Sabarimala shrine in India’s Kerala state on Wednesday, sparking protests.

The women told the BBC they felt it necessary to uphold women’s rights.

In September the Indian Supreme Court said the temple’s ban against women of menstruating age was discriminatory.

Hinduism regards menstruating women as unclean and bars them from participating in religious rituals – but most temples allow women to enter as long as they are not menstruating at the time.

Some protesters argue that the court ruling goes against the wishes of the temple’s deity, Lord Ayappa, and reacted angrily.

Across the state hundreds were arrested, and at least one person was killed in clashes.

‘I may be killed’

Speaking to BBC Hindi’s Imran Qureshi from a secret location on Friday, Ms Ammini, a law teacher, said she felt it was important for her to visit the shrine in order to uphold “constitutional principles” and “constitutional morality” within India.

“Gender justice is a big issue facing our society, and the implementation of this judgement helps to implement gender justice,” she said of their visit.

“I may be killed by the people,” she said, of the protest response. But Ms Ammini maintained she “had no fear” of the angry mobs.

Image copyrightReuters

Image caption The women were photographed during an earlier attempt to enter in December

The sentiment was shared by Ms Durga. “I am not afraid. But every time women make any progress, society has always made a lot of noise,” she told the BBC.

A religious devotee, she wanted to visit Sabarimala and pray to the deity, Ms Durga said.

Practices ‘have to change’

The site, which attracts millions of visitors every year, is one of the most prominent in the country.

“Even though I believe in God, I am a person who feels there are some practices that have to change,” she said.